On March 22, 2017, a terror attack occurred at the Palace of Westminster in London, England. For  recipient Fallon Porter (IAFS, CMCI ’18), this felt too close to home—she was sitting at a desk, less than three miles from the palace. For her spring 2017 semester, Fallon took classes through the  program, studying the city’s history, culture and politics. This experience would serve as a catalyst for graduating CU Boulder with magna cum laude honors.
2017 saw multiple major terror attacks in the U.K., negatively affecting London’s image and industries. It was a pivotal semester for Fallon to be there. “I spent many evenings conversing with Londoners, learning their historical account and interpretations of events happening in their country,” explains Fallon.
Back at CU Boulder, Fallon began to research and write her honors thesis. She closely examined the effects of terrorism on London’s place brand and how key actors and organizations responded to the events of 2017. She zoomed in on crisis management from both local and national government entities; examined press releases, official statements, and economic tourism data; and interviewed faculty, including those she knew from London. Her thesis, London has Fallen: A Case Study on Global City Branding, Terrorism and Crisis Communication, combines global data with events she experienced first-hand. “If it hadn’t been for my time abroad there, I don’t think I would have been passionate enough to complete such an in-depth thesis project.” Today, Fallon resides in Las Vegas and works in public relations for , and hopes to revisit London soon again.